Outside Dhaka’s Shilpakala Academy, a mosaic of ten portraits adorning a newly beautified footpath was the target of a sudden, low‑profile assault. Rimi, who has long sided with the July uprising’s hard‑line faction, sprayed black ink across Tagore’s face, asserting the poet was an Indian icon whose image should be erased—an act that immediately turned a public art project into a flashpoint.
Nurul Haque Nur, the state minister for expatriates’ welfare, branded the vandalism a "communal Jamaati misdeed" on October 11, while Rashed Khan, Prime Minister’s aide, accused Jamaat‑e‑Islami of orchestrating the attack and claimed an adviser to its chief had funneled funds for the protest materials. The allegations, steeped in the tense political climate after the July uprising, were later echoed by Jamaat’s own Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, who demanded the case be dropped and accused the administration of harassing July‑insurgency affiliates.
The court’s November 14 hearing was a whirlwind of accusations and counter‑accusations. Bail petitions were denied in a terse ruling, and the four protesters—Rimi, ANM Ayas, and two unnamed comrades—were remanded to jail. The judge cited the "public order" implications of the act, a decision that critics say widens the legal crackdown on dissent.
The incident is part of a string of cultural attacks that have rattled Bangladesh’s heritage scene. A Tagore mural in Kushtia’s Kumarkhali was blackened in April 2025, a Rabindra Kacharibari auditorium was vandalised in June, and Chhayanaut’s Dhanmondi complex suffered arson in December. Each event has been framed by political actors as a threat to national identity, amplifying the already fraught debate over the country’s post‑independence narrative.
In the wake of the arrests, a local resident who lives near the Shilpakala Academy expressed mixed feelings: "We used to walk past Tagore’s portrait every day, but now the air feels heavy." The next court session is scheduled for October 20, where prosecutors will argue for extended detention, while opposition parties will push for a review of the charges under the country's anti‑extremism laws.